Book reviews [1978, Vol. 5, no. 1]

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Kenneth O. Elvik, Editor IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
BOOK REVIEWS
V. A. Mazdorov, History of Accounting Evolution in USSR (1917-1972), (Istoriya razvitiya bukhgalterskogo ycheta v CCCP), Moscow. Finance Publishers, 1972, 320 pp. (published in Russian).
Reviewed by Yoshiro Kimizuka, Denkitsushin University and Akira Mori, Meiji University
Studies in accounting history attract the concerns of researchers in the USSR. We have found nearly a dozen examples in the litera-ture published from 1958 to 1977, but this book is the first one en-titled accounting history. It outlines the process of accounting evolution, a bypath of economic history, and can be divided into 5 parts,
(1) Russian accounting (ch. 1, before 1917). Russia was an un-developed capitalist state before the Revolution. Double entry book-keeping spread itself gradually in the 18th century for purposes of bank credit, taxation, and prevention of fraudulent bankruptcy, along with the growth of industry, as we have in other countries.
(2) Revolution and restoration (ch. 2-4, 1917-1929). Drastic in-flation, caused by World War I and wars against the White Army along with foreign intervention, disordered accounting for several years after the Revolution in 1917. Accounting was further aggra-vated by some prejudice, despite Lenin's instruction. Decreased production was recovered in 1926 and the First Five-Year Plan for industrialization needed a diffusion of cost accounting. Accoun-tants attended the world congress in 1929 and observed foreign practice and calculators.
(3) Construction of socialist institutions (ch. 5-6, 1930-1940). Socialism became firmly established and socialistic ownership (state enterprises and cooperatives) formed the foundations of in-dustry. Theoretical classification of accounts was publicized after a comment made by Strumilin, the noted economist, and "norm oosting", Soviet-typed standard cost accounting, was popularized. The foundation of Soviet accounting was fixed then.
(4) World War II and reconstruction (ch. 7-8, 1941-1950). The War (1941-1945) destroyed enormous assets and innumerable lives.